The Chase Through Time
by emeraldluck
Summary: Anakin (before ep II) lands in the 21st Century through a freak accident. As if trying to find his way back home wasn't stressful enough, he learns that the rebel terrorist he was chasing also found his way to the 21st century. Fate throws him another curve ball when he finds himself protecting the one person he never expected to meet who could change his future. (time travel. AU)
1. Chapter 1

Rated T: for course language and violence

**Chapter 1: The Chase that Would Span Centuries**

_BOOM._

White rubble rained down in front of Anakin Skywalker's eyes. Somewhere from the maze of broken marble slabs, a laser blaster had shot out, hitting the pillar, missing Anakin's head by only a foot. Now, it looked like a giant something-or-other had taken a bite out of the stone marble.

Anakin ducked back behind the tall pillar. _So much for that,_ he thought.

Edging around for another look, he chanced trying to catch sight of the rebel he was chasing. He looked for the tell-tale sign of a head, or cloth or anything. It was hard to tell, really. The landscape looked like it had been sliced in so many different angles, a mosaic of triangles and rectangles, everything varying shades of grey.

He crept forward, hoping to use the giant slab that leaned at a dangerous angle as a new barrier. It was going to fall over—_when_ was the only question. By its size and smoothness, he guessed it used to be a wall. He poked his head around the edge, hoping the new perspective confirmed his suspicions.

_All clear._

Stepping over a loose, flat stone, he pushed off the ground at a run, pumping his legs harder and harder. He could feel that the rebel had gained considerable distance. He could catch up. He _would_ catch up. The rebel wasn't going to get away.

"Anakin! Need help?" called his Jedi Master, Obi-wan, far behind him.

"I've almost got him!" he called back. He hoped his voice didn't alert the rebel just how close he really was. Only a muffled reply reached his ears. Obi-wan was too far away now to distinguish his words.

A dry wind and dust bit into Anakin's skin as he raced between and over the uneven stones. He ran past their jagged edges with the speed and precision one only got through years of Jedi training. His muscles burned with the strain to keep the speed up.

After reaching the outskirts of the broken stone pillars, Anakin came to a stop. Everywhere he looked, there wasn't an obstruction tall enough to hide a man—not this far from the central area.

He felt that the rebel was supposed to be right there. Yet he wasn't. Confusion frustrated him.

A few minutes later, light footsteps announced Obi-wan's arrival before he came running into view. "What happened?" he asked.

"Gone," muttered Anakin, brushing debris from his hair. It fell in a shower of white powder. "What about the accomplice?"

"Handled," said Obi-wan. "The leader must be caught. Top priority now."

How were they supposed to find him when Anakin's senses told him that he was within a distance that he should have been easily visible? Though with every passing second, Anakin felt the presence recede from his mind.

"Alright," said Anakin, giving up on trying to solve the strange problem, "when do we leave?"

"You're going alone," said Obi-wan, taking out a communicator and proceeded to type a message.

The statement had him stupefied for a moment. In all the nine and a half years he'd known him, Obi-wan never let Anakin go after an enemy alone. Sometimes he felt that Obi-wan went out of his way to restrict him. He surveyed Obi-wan for a moment, taking in the soot stained clothes—a matching set to his own.

"Am I hearing you right? Didn't hit your head too hard back there, did you?" Anakin asked, futilely rubbing at a particular annoying spot on his sleeve. Jedi had an image to live up to. They weren't supposed to look like they came from a fight—or more accurately, you weren't supposed to be able to guess that the fight took a wear to them.

Obi-wan waved him off in a good-natured manner. "Don't write me off yet. I still have much to teach you."

Anakin sat down on a toppled column, finally giving up on his clothes. He was finally coming down from the high of running, and he felt the fatigue begin to sift into every muscle. He surveying the wreckage around him. Fresh wreckage. It was a functioning building just until two hours ago.

"If _I'm_ going, then what will _you_ be doing—not resting, I hope?" said Anakin.

"I will be meeting with the council to discuss security with the elders. I'd ask you to come, but your input would be too immature to do any good," replied Obi-wan in a dry tone, keeping watch around them.

Okay, he deserved that. He shouldn't have taken that jab at Obi-wan's age. Not that Obi-wan was actually old, he was actually in his prime, but, in Anakin's mind, 35 was practically ancient compared to his 19 years, and the abundance of age related jokes was too tempting to pass up.

"You're sending me on a wild goose chase. The rebel could be anywhere," said Anakin. He welcomed a solo mission, but not if it was a waste of time.

"We know that his organization is planning to attack the summit on Naboo." Obi-wan crossed his arms. A gesture that Anakin recognised to mean that Obi-wan made up his mind on the next course of action.

"—You guess," interjected Anakin.

"It's your top priority, Anakin. Look around you." The carnage was out of place in the sunny day. The harsh light made a dark contrast in the cracks branching in the heaps of white marble strewn around beyond recognition. It was impossible to even begin to guess at what part of the building it came from.

"This bomb was meant to kill _one_ person," Obi-wan continued. "Luckily for us, he didn't succeed, but look at the damage. It would take years to rebuild this. The street. The building…" Obi-wan trailed off, shaking his head. He didn't need to elaborate, Anakin got the picture—heck, he was looking right at it.

The summit would house many senators. _These_ particular rebels were fanatic in their attempts to kill government officials. They were the most dangerous kind. Their attacks usually killed innocent civilians who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. There was an exponential relationship between the scale of attack and the number of officials targeted. He shuddered to think what might be.

Sighing, Anakin got to his feet. "I'll take the one-man ship," he said as he headed in the direction to the ship bay.

From behind, he heard Obi-wan calling, "May the Force be with you, and remember to _be_ careful!" stressing the last part. It wasn't just a cordial goodbye. When Obi-wan said it, he actually _really_ meant for Anakin to take it to heart. In other words, _Anakin, don't take risks; don't do what I wouldn't do, _he translated in his head; also words he heard too many times to count.

He raised his arm in farewell without a backwards glance. The day Obi-wan finally had faith in him was the day he would stop making age related jokes. Maybe.

..

...

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Author's note: I would love any constructive criticism, so that I can improve my writing. (For example, were there any areas where the story dragged (a.k.a. pacing)? See my bio for a more comprehensive list. Your comments would be greatly appreciated. Thank you :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Shipwrecked**

"—Wait, hang on," Anakin interrupted the small hologram of Obi-wan hovering over the consol, casting a pale blue light. Standing aboard the one-man ship, Anakin stared at the blinking lights, one red and one blue.

"What is it?" asked Obi-wan.

"There's a problem."

"What kind of—"

"Wait, and I'll tell you," gritted out Anakin.

He pulled up the screen for the red light data, as the ship hummed softly in the background, creating a soothing white noise. _This can't be right_, he thought.

"Well?" prompted Obi-wan.

"The ship's telling me I have a damaged airlock bay. It was fine before." Then he pulled up the blue screen data. "The other warning's not so bad."

"Tell me anyway," said Obi-wan.

Anakin blew out a breath. "It reads that the hyperspace route is intersecting a zone of solar radiation."

There was a silent pause, then, "Anakin, drop out of hyperspace now. Wait for the solar storm to finish."

"Obi-wan, _nothing_ is going to happen."

"You know that's not true!" chided Obi-wan.

"So my ship's sensors _might_ be a little blind for a little while—big deal."

"Anakin. They've been known to take out _entire_ computer systems. Sometimes, the parts have to be _replaced_."

"It'll be fine—I'm a great pilot," Anakin said, and then, after scrutinizing Obi-wan's miniature holographic face, he added, "great instincts," for good measure. He could feel Obi-wan begin to build up steam for a full blown lecture. "Have to go. Need to check out the airlock bay. Bye." Before Obi-wan could say another word, Anakin turned off the hologram communicator.

He ran his fingers through his hair in agitation. Sometimes, Master Obi-wan felt suffocating. He wished he would loosen up. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he headed towards the back door.

He marched down the steel corridors to a symphony of his boot's echoes. Rounding the tight corner, he ducked his head under the web of cable wires spilling out from the ceiling like the ship's bowels had been gutted out._ I better fix that_, he thought wryly. It was the only ship available when he left on this impromptu mission to catch the rebel.

Stopping at the airlock, he pulled on an oxygen mask, hoping the ship wasn't venting atmosphere. There would be no rescue. The first door slid open and the second one slid half way and stopped while there was a horrible pitched screeching noise from the hydraulic levers. The doors groaned and Anakin felt his heart stop. It was every mechanic's nightmare to hear such noises come from works of art. A ship was meant to be lithe with its smooth curves on the outside and most of all… silent—like the deadliest predator. It was every mechanic's pride to fine tune such a ship; to know that your ship is the stealthiest one out there. Not that you could hear sound in space, but you could hear your ship's drive on the inside. Loud ships made for loud migraines—literally.

Anakin pressed the button to reseal the doors and the metal cacophony started again, killing his ears. It sounded like the doors were jamming, but not quite.

Crouching, Anakin prepared himself for the noise this time and pressed the button. He watched the bottom of the door carefully as it opened again. He'd have to look at them from the other side. Obi-wan would have a coronary if he knew Anakin was about to go inspect it. It was one thing to attempt this if he had a co-pilot aboard, but should anything go wrong, he'd be trapped in the airlock bay—away from the control room. He could almost hear Obi-wan's voice in the back of his mind: l_ots can go wrong when a ship was in hyperspace._

The thought of Obi-wan brought a smile to Anakin's lips. He was like a father and a brother to him, and, despite Obiwan's misgivings, he knew Obi-wan meant well.

_But Obi-wan's not here and he'd never know,_ Anakin decided. _Besides, he worries too much_. _Don't things always turn out fine? _ With that thought solidified in his mind, he stepped over the threshold.

From the other side, the door had an ugly scorch mark. _What the hell?_ He wondered._ That wasn't there before._ Pressing the button, he studied the doors closing. Whatever—or _whoever_, he begrudgingly added—caused this had misaligned and probably dented the bottom of the doors. Every time he opened the doors, he risked the hydraulic system breaking from the stress.

Well, if there was someone on board with him, he thought, he would welcome the fight. He had to get rid of his aggravation somehow.

Just as he reached to open the doors again, he lost his footing and fell down. Anakin was not clumsy; he had the agility of an acrobat. It was the floor that had _moved_. Then, tremors rocked the ship and the hull groaned like a large invisible hand had grasped the ship in its palm.

He braced for the wall, but the floor gave away and his head found the wall instead of his hand.

"Mother effing—" He pressed his palm to his head as if to negate the bruise he would find a couple hours later. He wasn't hurt, but he shouldn't have made that crack about Obi-wan's head earlier. He felt like fate had chosen today to make an ironic mockery of him.

Cursing softly, he sat on the floor away from the walls. He would not risk a real head injury, or a back injury (from leaning against the walls). He looked around the airlock bay. There was nowhere soft to crawl to. Everything was steel, steel, and more steel. Hard, bruising steel.

It wasn't easy to sit on the floor. The floor kept throwing him off, and he had to use all his muscles to balance. He felt like a puppet whose strings had been cut, making movement hard and useless. Add to that, that puppet might as well have been thrown into a blender. The steel ship certainly felt like one, especially after his hip smacked into the floor for the umpteenth time.

_When I get out of this, I'll propose ship walls be padded with thick cushioning._ He couldn't believe nobody's ever thought of it. This was hell.

After an hour, the tremors had finally stopped. Anakin stood up slowly, on shaky legs, unsure if it was truly over. There were a couple of times when the sudden cease of motion gave him false hope, and it was dashed when he was thrown into another round of the game "off-balance". His muscles felt sore from trying to keep to one spot on the floor for what felt like hours. It wasn't easy when the floor was no longer a surface you could count on to stay still.

Finally up, Anakin hurried to the control room, wobbling only slightly. On the way he finally realized what was bothering him. Before he even looked at the screen, he knew. The ship wasn't humming like it did before the tremors.

_I'm not traveling at hyperspeed anymore_, the thought echoed in his head.

Whatever had happened had knocked the ship off course. Recalculating his current position and programming a new route was going to be hell, that is, if the ship was in any condition to go back in hyperspace.

Anakin wasn't sure anymore.

"Crap," he muttered, frustration with this mission mounting.

"You got that right," came a voice from behind him.

Sighing, Anakin slowly turned around.

..

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Author's note: I would love any constructive criticism, so that I can improve my writing. (For example, were there any areas where the story dragged (a.k.a. pacing)? See my bio for a more comprehensive list. Your comments would be greatly appreciated. Thank you :)


	3. Chapter 3

_Previous Chapter:_

_"Crap," he muttered, frustration with this mission mounting._

_"You got that right," came a voice from behind him._

_Sighing, Anakin slowly turned around._

**Chapter 3: Confrontation**

Anakin turned to the sight of a blaster pointed at him. To add insult to injury, the man holding the blaster was the very same rebel Anakin had left to find.

_This just keeps getting better and better_.

If he wasn't in a state of emergency with the ship, he would have found the situation kind of funny. He would have said something cliche like, _"Oh, you just saved me the trouble of finding you."_

But what he actually said was, "What do you want?" in a belligerent tone, not really asking. He wasn't in any mood to patiently wait for answers, and he didn't care enough at the moment.

"I'm pointing a weapon at you, Jedi," said the rebel, shaking his blaster, "talk to me with respect."

Anakin suppressed the urge to throw in an insult at that just for laughs, anything to reduce this stressful situation. It wouldn't go in his favour.

"If you wanted to kill me, you would have done so by now. The fact I'm _still breathing_ means you want something from me," said Anakin, non-perturbed. _Not that I'd actually give you the chance to kill me,_ he silently added.

The rebel, still sporting the same sullied clothes from the fight earlier, looked like a dramatic contrast to Anakin who had long since cleaned and changed, giving him the appearance that all was well in his life. The rebel looked like a downright savage, holding the gun with dirt lined hands (circumstance to the bomb, but anybody who didn't know that, would come to the same conclusion-that he was a savage). He had ugly purple bruise forming just above his eyebrow.

The rebel said nothing. Instead he jerked the blaster towards the door—the universal gesture for: _follow my directions. I've got a big gun and I'm not afraid to use it_.

Anakin rolled his eyes.

Raising his hands in mock surrender, he made his way towards the door, sighing loudly.

Just before he cleared the room, he sprung off the floor in a backwards aerial somersault and knocked the gun from the rebel's hand.

The rebel swung his other arm out—to what Anakin guessed was—to hit him. Anakin blocked him and kicked him.

The rebel's back hit the back wall.

_Too easy_, thought Anakin, _and I didn't even need to use my lightsaber_.

Anakin bent to collect the gun. Straightening up, he turned to see a particularly surly expression on the rebel's face, one that reminded him of that one time he tricked Obi-wan into eating live bugs. Though the rebel's lip curled in disgust in the same way, Obi-wan had managed to look dignified while doing it.

"Jedi scum," he spat.

"Try something I haven't heard before. Shouldn't be too hard," taunted Anakin. "You all read from the same script the size of scrap paper_._"

The rebel raised one sleeve cuff to his face, and flicked his other arm to the floor.

Anakin realised too late what this action meant.

A thick cloud of white dust exploded into existence in the middle of the room. Anakin's eyes burned and his nose stung.

He raised his hands to his face, as if to somehow shield it from the agony, but it made no difference. Focusing on the Force, Anakin used it as his eyes to find the exit.

Feeling the walls, he made his way down the corridor.

"Gaah!" Something solid collided with his cheek.

Still blind, he put his hand out to feel in front of him.

_Those blasted cable wires!_ He should have remembered they were hanging from the ceiling. He was a Jedi knight, not a commoner; a Jedi was _always_ aware of their surroundings.

Slowly, his eyesight returned, painting his vision in a watery mirage.

_Calm down_, he told himself, _and concentrate_.

Slowing his breathing, he felt the rebel's life force from the airlock bay. Cursing his own rashness, he headed to stop the rebel from abandoning ship.

Reaching the door, that the rebel had damaged much earlier, Anakin pressed the button to open the door. Impatience made his shoulders tense. Anger at himself and the rebel fueled his energy. It became a real effort not to bounce on the balls of his feet.

It was easier to ignore the grinding metal of the door when he had an enemy almost within his grasp to concentrate on.

When the door finally opened, he swore.

Loudly.

And for a couple minutes.

One of the two gliders was gone.

..

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_Next Chapter: Welcome to Earth, Anakin Skywalker_

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Author's note: I would love any constructive criticism, so that I can improve my writing. (For example, were there any areas where the story dragged (a.k.a. pacing)? See my bio for a more comprehensive list. Your comments would be greatly appreciated. Thank you :)


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: To readers who've been there at the time when chapter 3 was just published, I've updated chapter 1 and 2 as of Aug. 9. Tell me if you liked the old version better.

**_previously:_**

_When the door finally opened, he swore._

_Loudly._

_And for a couple minutes._

_One of the two gliders was gone._

_**Chapter 4:**  
**Welcome to Earth, Anakin Skywalker**_

_Goddamit! Is the universe playing some cosmic joke on me?_

Fuming, Anakin strapped himself into the glider and flew out of the ship's bay to chase after the rebel. Looking out the window, all he saw was a sun, stars, and more stars. Then he redirected his senses on the force. Sensing the rebel's life force, he headed off in that direction.

_Have to figure out where I am, _he thought. He had some time before his glider would catch up in view of the rebel's glider.

Pulling up the star map, he stared at the message on the screen:

ERROR: LOCATION NOT RECOGNIZED. STAR SYSTEM NOT IN COMPUTER.

"What?! You piece of—"

Then the computer beeped, alerting him that there was another glider in range.

"Finally." He breathed. This would be over soon, and he'd take out his frustration on the guy who dragged him into this mess.

He came into view of a planet that the computer recognized as:

PLANETS IN RANGE: EARTH

"Yeah… there's something wonky with this computer. Getting you _replaced_ as soon as we land," muttered Anakin to the inanimate glider. "Not recognizing the location. Bah!"

Tracking the rebel's trajectory, he followed. He would land, capture the rebel, and go home. Then have a good laugh about this with Obi-wan. It would be funny later. Yes, later, after enough time has passed that this wouldn't irritate him anymore.

The rebel didn't head to one of Earth's many landing pads, instead he decided to land in a grassy clearing.

:::

Settling his glider gently next to the other glider, he rushed out, hoping that the rebel, by some stupid miracle, had decided to stay in the glider. Maybe the rebel had decided to pretend to leave the glider, and once seeing that Anakin has left to go searching for him, fly off, leaving poor, pathetic Anakin wasting his time searching for someone no longer on the planet's surface.

_Ha ha…_ smirked Anakin, _if that's your plan, well… _Anakin had fun imagining this scenario.

Once he opened the glider, disappointment washed through him.

Completely and utterly empty.

Anakin kicked the side of the glider. The rebel was like a pest infestation that just wouldn't die.

On foot, he headed off in the direction that he felt a faint presence. He guessed he might also find civilization there. He would: acquire a hovercar, find the rebel, and _then _go home.

After two hours, Anakin came into view of the outskirts of civilization. He found a road. And where there is a road, you would find people—hence civilization.

Walking down the strange grey road, he came upon a strange small house with plastic sidings. Over it, a sign read: Joe's Convenience Store. Out front, sitting on an old picnic table in need of paint, was a small group of teenage boys wearing odd, blue pants.

"Hey, you lost or something?" called a rowdy one, sitting directly on the tabletop, taking a sip from a bottle.

The second one looked up from the small flat device in his hand, then laughed. "Yeah, the anime convention's not here!"

They all burst out laughing, shouting calls of "Freak".

_The what convention? And what's wrong with them?_

He decided to approach them. After all, once they found out he was a Jedi, they would change their attitudes and help him. It was that simple. "I am a Jedi knight," he said, "I am currently on a mission to capture a dangerous terrorist. I require your aid. I need to borrow a hovercar."

They howled with laughter.

"Hovercar! He thinks he's Captain Kirk or something!"

"Fucking nuts," said the beefier boy.

The third one, after he finished laughing, sneered at him. "Look, this ain't Loserville. Get on out of here before I break your pretty mug."

Anakin's fist tightened. These… _civilians,_ no matter how rude they were, he had no right to beat them up. They were _civilians,_ not criminals he had to remind himself. He was a representative of the Jedi, he couldn't do anything that would tarnish the name of the Jedi.

Holding his anger in check, he left them.

Walking down the road, he heard the sound of a heavy engine. Looking back, he spotted what was—

_Is that an automobile?_

It had _wheels_.

Before the opportunity could pass him by, he waved his hands, doing a mad impression of a stranded man trying to get a rescue craft to notice him. The truck came to a stop, wheezing as it did so. On the side it had a large photograph of a beverage in a can, with the slogan, "Mmm… so good" right next to a logo.

The window rolled down and a heavy-set man with a beard and jowls eyed him up and down, then asked, "Kid, you lookin' for a ride?"

..

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**Next Chapter:** When Art Thou?

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Author's Note 2: Next chapter release: May/June 2015. This year, I'm unexpectedly busy. If, miraculously, things settle down, I will try to get another chapter out earlier (though it's highly unlikely).

Author's Note: Hey, I'd love feedback. Did you think this chapter was great, good, okay, or bad. Please tell me where I need to fix it. Thank you ;)


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